In this description, the word “message” will be used in the broad sense of any written text and/or images intended to be read and/or analysed by a receiving party, i.e. one or more persons and/or machines, such as computers and processors for automated actions and handling of the message.
Today, electronic transmission of messages is used extensively instead of sending messages in paper form, e.g., by using an ordinary post mail service. The well-known e-mail system is typically used all over the world for sending messages electronically between communicating stations, such as Personal Computers PCs, work stations, mobile terminals or the like. The messages may be written in a text format designed for the e-mail system, and files in any format may further be attached thereto optionally. Messages are thus transmitted in a digitally encoded form over various networks, such as local networks, public regional networks and the Internet. In this way, messages can be transmitted over any distance, be it between computers located in the same room or in different parts of the world.
Yet, many enterprises and institutions still send various messages in the printed paper form regularly to different receiving parties, such as customers, vendors, members, private households etc., using an ordinary post mail service. By way of a few examples, the messages may be invoices, forms, information letters, business offers, etc. However, there are some evident drawbacks to this traditional way of distributing messages.
Firstly, there is a significant delay before a message reaches the receiver, typically at least one day if transmitted within the same country. The post mail service also varies greatly between different countries, and it can sometimes take weeks to reach a receiver in a different country.
Secondly, there is always a certain risk that the posted message does not reach the receiver at all, for some reason. There is also a risk that the message is intercepted by an unauthorised person, and expensive measures are sometimes taken to ensure that the message reaches the intended receiver and no-one else.
Thirdly, it is generally costly to handle physical papers, in particular when they are distributed over long distances. The cost of human labour and equipment for handling outgoing post mail is often significant for enterprises or institutions sending large amounts of messages in letters to many receivers. Furthermore, if actions are to be taken in response to a message in paper form at the receiving side, a certain amount of manual work is required for, e.g., reading and registering the message, inputting commands to a computer, etc. If a message is received electronically, automated actions in response thereto are enabled, and both humans and machines can read and analyse the message.
In all these respects, e-mail is deemed to be superior and to be preferred before post mail.
However, some message receiving parties may not prefer to receive messages by e-mail after all, or may not even be capable to do so due to lack of required computer hardware or software. Further, in some cases, the e-mail address of the receiver, e.g., a new customer, may not be known. If an enterprise or institution sends large amounts of messages, e.g., invoices, to many different receiving parties, e.g., customers, significant efforts are required to determine for each individual message whether the receiver prefers e-mail or post mail delivery or has any specific preferences regarding details of the delivery form. It is therefore a problem that time consuming and/or costly routines must be employed for differentiating the sending of messages by either e-mail, post mail, fax or any other form, according to specific requirements for specific types of messages, depending on the preferences of individual receiving parties. Another problem is that most existing mailing routines are adapted to printed papers, and it would be advantageous if those routines could be preserved to a great extent also when sending messages electronically.
There are known solutions for mass mailing of documents where either post delivery or electronic delivery is selected based on delivery preferences stored in a database. However, a certain amount of supervising control signalling is then required, which is separate from the actual print streams, in order to perform the relatively simple selection between the basic delivery forms. Bandwidth and functionality must then be provided for communicating and interpreting the control signals, which increases complexity and costs.
A simpler and less costly procedure is thus desirable where more detailed customer preferences can be taken into account for determining delivery form and details for individual messages when electronic delivery is selected, without requiring any supervising control signalling.